Ethan and his family made their way to the nearby market where Evelyn had her own shop. Just like he remembered from this body’s memories, the market was slightly unpopular, only visited by the locals who were too lazy to visit better markets.
Still, it was something.
When they arrived at the market and approached Evelyn’s stall, she greeted a few older women who had shops around hers.
Ethan glanced at them, his brows furrowed.
’They’re all selling fruits? How does this even work?’
He looked around some more and realized that nearly every shop in the vicinity was selling fruits.
’Goodness... how do you expect to make profit in such a competitive place?’
He rubbed his forehead, then walked over to help Evelyn open the doors of the stall and arrange the fruits for the day. While they were doing that, a delivery bus came over to deliver the fruits she had purchased for today.
Ethan frowned as he looked at them. ’Too many fruits. They’re even chaotic. As a customer, I’ll only get confused if I come here to buy anything.’
Still, he didn’t say anything yet. Nora sat quietly in the shop, reading a short story for kids. Meanwhile, Ethan lurked around, watching.
He wanted to see how exactly Evelyn sold her goods.
An hour later, a customer approached her shop with a contemplative expression.
"Hello, Eve! It has been a while, hasn’t it?" The woman laughed, her lips widening in a smile.
Evelyn smiled back and replied, "Yeah. I thought you had moved away from this neighborhood."
"Oh, it’s not that at all," The woman shook her head and explained. "My kid gave me a grandchild last week, so I went to visit them."
"Oh, really? Congratulations, Grace! I’m really happy for you," Evelyn exclaimed, feeling genuinely happy for the older woman.
"Thank you, thank you," Grace chuckled, then looked at the displayed fruits. "Well, I’ve come to buy just some fruits this morning. Something I can have for breakfast. I don’t feel like cooking."
"Oh, alright," Evelyn smiled. "How about you try bananas, grapes, and apples?"
Grace’s eyes narrowed as she looked at the three fruits displayed far apart from one another, then she shook her head.
"Don’t worry, I’ll just take one bunch of the grapes. That should be enough."
Although disappointed that she didn’t buy more, Evelyn didn’t show it at all. She smiled and said, "That’ll cost you two dollars and fifty cents."
"Fair," Grace nodded, then reached into her purse and pulled out the money.
Once paid, Evelyn packaged the grapes in a small plastic bag and handed it to her.
"Thanks for patronizing us!"
Then, she quietly sent the woman off.
As she put the payment in her waist-purse, Ethan approached her. Her heart tightened, thinking he was going to snatch it immediately.
"E-Ethan?"
He didn’t answer her immediately. Instead, he looked at the fruit arrangement for a few seconds, then shook his head. Ethan had noticed that the more colorful fruits were buried beneath the others. Customers had to actively search for them. That was a mistake.
A customer shouldn’t have to search for something they wanted to buy. You showed them what they wanted before they even realized they wanted it.
"You won’t sell this way."
Evelyn blinked, caught off guard. Was he trying to give her advice?
"Your goods are only mildly arranged. Anyone who comes here will only get confused."
Without waiting for her response, he went over to the display board and began to rearrange the fruits. The more colorful fruits were placed in the center like a beacon, while the others like grapes and bananas stood at their sides.
When he was done arranging, Evelyn couldn’t help but blink in surprise.
"That’s..."
It did indeed look a bit better—even better than the other shops around. Ethan glanced at her and chuckled.
"Sometimes, all you need is a little order."
He retreated and fell silent again, leaving her at the counter while he browsed through the internet.
Evelyn glanced at him in confusion, wondering what had gotten into him. Since when did Ethan care about anything other than money?
Still, she couldn’t focus on him right now.
Not even ten minutes after the rearrangement, two customers approached, surprising her. She quickly stood up and attended to them.
One bought three mangoes, then added one bunch of grapes to it. The other bought two apples and four bananas after a short moment of hesitation.
Evelyn watched them go, still surprised. Was it really Ethan’s rearrangement that worked? Or was it just a coincidence?
She glanced back and saw him still engrossed in his phone, unaware of what had just happened.
She turned back and waited. A few minutes later, a couple approached her stall. Evelyn enthusiastically greeted them, then listened to the woman.
"Um, I just wanted to get apples actually, but your grapes look nice. How much?"
Evelyn promptly replied, "The grapes are two dollars and fifty cents per bunch. And they’re fresh too. I just got them today, actually."
The woman’s eyes lit up, and she smiled. "Alright, give me five apples and two bunches of grapes."
Evelyn was greatly surprised, but responded swiftly. She helped them package the goods then paused when the husband stepped forward.
"Add two oranges too. They look good."
At this point, the white-haired woman couldn’t hide her surprise. Thankfully, she wasn’t the only one surprised.
The man’s partner looked at him in confusion. "Chris? Why are you buying oranges?"
He shrugged. "They look good. And honestly? I’ve been craving fresh mangoes for a while."
The woman quickly accepted her partner’s reason and turned to Evelyn. "Make it four. He can’t be the only one eating it."
Evelyn laughed lightly, then added four mangoes to their purchased goods.
Once they paid, she waved them off with a bright smile, then turned to Ethan, confused and amazed.
Was it... really him?
She already had four customers in less than half an hour! That was already more than the number of customers who usually approached her in three hours, on a normal day.
’Still, what’s his end goal? Is he trying to help me make more money so he can take it all?’
At this thought, she couldn’t help but feel a little sad and dejected. However, just as she sighed, she heard Nora’s voice.
"Mommy, I’m starting to feel hungry."
She turned to the little girl and patted her head. "Alright, let me call someone over to help us keep watch. We’ll go get something to eat now."
Before Nora could nod, Ethan interrupted. "There’s no need for that. You can stay. I’ll go with Nora."
This surprised Evelyn, as she never thought he’d say that.
"Um, alright..." She hesitantly handed him some cash, then watched as they walked away.
’Strange... he’s really acting strange...’